Women Bloggers Spawn an Evangelical ‘Crisis of Authority’
(RNS) When Sarah Bessey started blogging in 2005, she saw it as a way to keep in touch with friends and family.
Flash forward to 2017.
Changing Trends in Church Fashions
If we could step back in time, say the 1950s, we might not recognize our congregations of today. Typical fashions then included hats, white gloves, starched white shirts, ties and fedoras.
Marvelous Miniatures Give up Some — but Not All — Their Treasures
NEW YORK (RNS) At the top of one of the hardwood sculptures currently on view at The Met Cloisters in Manhattan stands Jesus, flanked by saints and angels, two of whom are blowing the final trumpets. Beneath them, carved in deep relief, are souls in purgatory, prodded by demons, moaning as their fate is decided. At the sculpture’s base is the gaping maw of hell consuming someone.
Even if this were a normal-size work of art, the detailed, perfectly balanced presentation of its 50-plus figures would be remarkable.
But it’s all carved inside a 2-inch-high sphere.
Why Easter Is Called Easter, and Other Little-Known Facts About the Holiday
(The Conversation) This Sunday, April 16, Christians will be celebrating Easter, the day on which the resurrection of Jesus is said to have taken place. The date of celebration changes from year to year.
Easter is quite similar to other major holidays like Christmas and Halloween, which have evolved over the last 200 years or so. In all of these holidays, Christian and non-Christian (pagan) elements have continued to blend together.
Caring for Your Church’s Caretakers
More than 110,000 Missourians, ages 65 years and over, suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease. Experts estimate that by 2025, that number will exceed 130,000. With more than 2,026 deaths in 2013, Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in Missouri. Alzheimer’s deaths in Missouri rate 9th highest in America, with a whopping 85 percent increase since 2000.
Lessons from the Family Table: 4 Reasons Why Sharing Meals Matter
A recent Gallup Poll reports that family dining is still a part of everyday life for the majority of U.S. parents. Fifty-three percent of adults with children younger than 18 say their family eats dinner together at home six or seven nights a week. But what about those who do not observe this ritual? Could this percentage be increased?
Hope Advance
“Payday Advance.” “No Credit Necessary.”
The promises hide economic exploitation and political inaction. Yet in this darkness, churches are responding with an alternative message, a sign of hope.
Christians get social media, other online tools to observe Lent
(RNS) For centuries during Lent, Christians have sought to grow closer to God through praying, fasting and giving to the poor.
Now they can also mark the 40-day period of penitence that precedes Easter by posting pictures to Instagram, reading a regular reflection in their email or watching a priest answer questions on Facebook Live.
What Does a Successful Church Look Like in 2017?
Do we measure the success of our churches by the number of people present each Sunday, the square footage of our buildings, the number of degrees held by our pastoral staff or the amount of money that is given to annual missions initiatives? Although I appreciate and value what these things mean to a congregation, I wonder if those criteria are the best way to measure whether a fellowship of believers is fulfilling its call to participate in the building of God’s kingdom.
Can Churches Make a Difference for College Students?
Irv Cockriel is sounding the alarm for any who will listen. The retired college educator now works to educate his fellow Baptists on the importance of getting college students in church. Cockriel, who retired in 2000 after 32 years as an educator and administer in the College of Education at the University of Missouri, had a wake-up call about five years ago when he heard statistics from a youth minister about how many church-going youth fall away from church in college and never come back.